What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that continues a month or more beyond the usual recovery period for an injury or illness or that goes on for months or years due to a chronic condition. The pain is usually not constant but can interfere with daily life at all levels.


Chronic pain can affect not only physical health,but also emotional well-being. It can intrude into all aspects of an individual’s life, ranging from home and work to leisure and social relationships.



Many of the conditions that are major sources of chronic pain and discomfort, such as arthritis and migraine headache, rarely cause death. However, people with chronic pain experience more disability days, spend more time in hospital, and have more frequent doctor contacts than those who do not experience chronic pain.

Chronic pain is the reason that many people seek treatment for massage. Statistics are staggering


It is difficult for many people to find support when suffering from chronic pain. The following is a list of resources for anybody desiring support. Click on the link to access.

Comox Valley Nursing Center Support Groups

Somatics Videos for Pain Relief

Chronic Pain Association of Canada

Canadian Pain Coalition Podcasts

What is Healing Touch & How Can It Help Me?

Healing Touch is an "energy therapy" that uses gentle hand techniques thought to help re-pattern the patient's energy field and accelerate healing of the body, mind, and spirit.

Healing Touch is based on the belief that human beings are fields of energy that are in constant interaction with others and the environment. The goal of Healing Touch is to purposefully use the energetic interaction between the Healing Touch practitioner and the patient to restore harmony to the patient's energy system.

In a Healing Touch session, the practitioner begins with a centering process to calm the mind, access a sense of compassion, and become fully present with the patient. The practitioner then focuses intention on the patient's highest good and places his or her hands lightly on the patient's body or makes sweeping hands motions above the body.

Healing Touch practitioners believe that this process balances and realigns energy flow that has been disrupted by stress, pain, or illness. The process eliminates blockages in the energy field so that the patient is in an optimal state for healing to occur.

Healing Touch complements other healing techniques a patient may already be using, including conventional medical practice in hospitals, clinics and in-home care, or other body-mind oriented therapies such as massage, guided imagery, music therapy, acupressure, biofeedback, and psychotherapy.

It is not intended as a cure.

Healing Touch Video Part I

Healing Touch Video Part 2

Where does healing touch come from?

Healing Touch was developed as a touch therapy program by Janet Mentgen, a nurse who has used energy-based care in her practice in Colorado since 1980. Mentgen and some of her colleagues developed a training program that incorporated the techniques of many well-known healers, as well as concepts borrowed from ancient shamanic and aboriginal healing traditions.

An evolving Healing Touch curriculum supports students in broadening and deepening their skills as energy healers as they move from the beginner to advanced level.

How Can Healing Touch Help Me?

Patients of Healing Touch often report an increased sense of well-being and peace. Many have reported positive experiences that have helped them better cope with illnesses and depression. The following comments or feelings are common:

• "I feel relaxed"
• "safe"
• "more balanced"
• "happier with life"
• "like all my tension is melting away"
• "reassured"

Research studies suggest that Healing Touch is effective for physical and mental relaxation, pain management, anxiety and stress reduction, and increasing one's sense of well-being.

Healing Touch has been used clinically (often by nurses in hospitals) to:

• Promote relaxation before and after medical procedures (such as surgery, childbirth, and diagnostic procedures) to aid in quicker recovery
• Reduce acute and chronic pain
• Promote wound healing
• Manage symptoms of chronic conditions, such as fibromyalgia or chronic headaches
• Improve sleep
• Reduce fatigue in cancer patients receiving radiation
• Enhance the immune system

Healing Touch can be used with all age groups and can be beneficial in all stages of health and illness. It can also be used to promote wellness and enhance personal and spiritual development.

Are there any safety concerns?

Because Healing Touch is a noninvasive energetic technique, there are few safety concerns. In addition, practitioners assess each patient and tailor the level of energy therapy to meet each patient's needs.

While Healing Touch techniques are gentle and noninvasive, children and the elderly tend to be more sensitive to the techniques. As a result, the Healing Touch practitioner may limit the amount of time for the session. In addition, the effect of medications may be enhanced by Healing Touch sessions, so patients should watch for this and speak to their provider if necessary.

Healing Touch is not a substitute for medical treatment. It is never considered to be a cure. Healing Touch complements conventional medical care and helps the body heal.

How Does it Work?

It has not been proven how Healing Touch works. The theory is that all living beings, including humans, are energy systems, and that an individual's energy field is in constant interplay with the surrounding environment.

One nurse theorist, Martha Rogers, believed that the most concentrated part of a being's energy field is the physical body, but that the field also extends beyond the skin, even though it is imperceptible to most people. Living things are continually exchanging energy with each other and, according to Rogers, working toward a universal order.

According to Rogers and other theorists, because an individual's energy field extends beyond the skin, the Healing Touch practitioner can interact with the field. With the use of Healing Touch techniques, the practitioner can reorder the client's energy flow patterns and remove blocks to the flow of vital energy. This allows the client to absorb more energy from the universe, which helps healing to occur.

This has not been observed or measured. However, it is interesting to note that a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) can measure biomagnetic fields emanating from human hands, so this may provide a way to research Healing Touch in the future.

Another way that Healing Touch may help patients is simply the caring relationship between the practitioner and client. It may be that the sense of a loving presence and the reduction of social isolation reduces stress and increases general well-being. The therapy may also promote a relaxation response, which shows up as a drop in blood pressure and heart and respiratory rate, along with a reduction in the production of stress hormones, all of which can contribute to a sense of well-being.

How does modern physics relate to these concepts?

Theories emerging in quantum physics related to non-local consciousness and its effect on the healing process may apply to the Healing Touch practitioners' work with clients.

For more detailed information on subtle energies and consciousness research, refer to The Institute of Noetic Sciences and the International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine.

Stay Healthy This Summer!

Summer chores can slow you down!

Maintaining the yard, working on house projects and keeping up with daily chores amid summer’s bustle may push you to your limits. To avoid the aches and pains of overdoing it, add frequent stretching to your routine. The following stretches can help prevent soreness in your back and shoulders while you work, and relieve discomforts afterward. Stretch only to a comfortable level, not to pain. If you do have pain that is intense or continues after any of these stretches, discontinue until you discuss it with your physician.

Three stretches for yard work

Shoulder stretch. While standing, bring your right arm across the chest. Let your right hand rest on your left shoulder or upper arm. With your left hand, press the right elbow into your chest to gently stretch the right upper arm and shoulder. Hold for 5 seconds and release. Repeat 3 to 5 times, then switch to the left arm.

Chest stretch. While standing, bring your arms behind you and place both hands on your lower back. Keep your fingers pointing down, and your elbows pointing to the sides. Inhale, and on the exhale move your elbows towards each other as far you can without discomfort. Feel the stretch across your chest, then bring the elbows back to the side. Repeat 5 to 10 times.

Cat stretch. Begin on your hands and knees with a flat back. Now tuck your pelvis in and head down. Stretch your mid-back away from the floor toward the sky — like a cat. Hold and breathe for a few seconds. Relax back into the starting position. Repeat 5 to 10 times.

To stay healthy and feeling good, practice these and other comfortable stretches several times every day.

Research shows some time in

the sun is vital to good health.

Sunlight eases pain, boosts mood, improves health 

According to the Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, sunlight can ease pain in surgical patients. Bright light also appears to stimulate production of serotonin, which is associated with improved mood. Bruce Rabin, researcher at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, concluded that sunlight can also decrease pain from other conditions, such as arthritis.

Protects against disease

Research shows that sunlight on the skin, important in the body’s production of vitamin D, plays a larger role in good health than scientists previously suspected. Studies now show that vitamin D not only helps the body absorb calcium to build stronger bones, but also protects against other problems, including heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and some cancers.

Limited exposure builds health

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends limiting your exposure to sun because of the risk of skin cancer. However, brief, regular exposure to sunlight (avoiding sunburn), can help build a healthy body while it contributes to a more positive mood.

Massage can help you weather

the demands of your favorite sport.

It’s summer and the courts, golf courses, and pools are busy with children and adults playing hard. Unfortunately, sometimes we play a little too hard. We become plagued by aches and pains or even an injury. We reach for the pain relievers and hope to feel better soon.

Massage helps prevent injuries 

Don’t forget — massage can help! Your body tends to build up tension over time as you challenge it to work harder in your sport. Massage reduces muscle tension, which increases your flexibility and resiliency. Specific massage techniques can also prevent soreness and injury before they happen.

A group of techniques, sometimes called sports massage, can help you heal from strains, sprains and overuse. Along with reducing pain, massage decreases inflammation and swelling, which speeds healing.

Improved performance

What may be even more amazing is that massage can even help you perform better, whether that’s a half-marathon, tennis match or weekend baseball tournament. And it can help you recover afterward, too. So if you have something big scheduled this summer, schedule a massage a few days before or the day afterward — or both.

Professional athletes have counted on massage for years to help them improve their skills and prevent injury. So why shouldn’t you schedule an extra massage or two this summer to help you feel and perform your best?

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time. —John Lubbock

How Can Soma Yoga Help You?

Many conditions that are commonly thought to be structural in nature, are functional, neuromuscular problems that can be prevented and improved with somatics and gentle movement.

When the brain forgets how to sense and control muscles properly, coordination, balance and proprioception is impaired and pain develops.

Chronically tight muscles are the result of sensory motor amnesia an habituated response to stress (accidents, injuries, surgeries, improper biomechanics, repetitive stress).

Examples of Sensory Motor Amnesia that can be eliminated with somatics and gentle movement include:

• chronic back pain                  
  
• neck and shoulder pain
• sciatica
• hip joint pain
• frozen shoulder
• tension headaches
• TMJ
• piriformis syndrome
• leg length discrepancy
• whiplash
• scoliosis
• knee and foot pain (plantarfascitis)

These conditions cannot be stretched or manipulated away. Stretching can often cause muscles to become tighter, in effect, worsening your muscle pain. Medicines can block the pain but not address the root cause of your pain.

Somatics and gentle movement are not magic. It is education, which requires your participation

What is Ayurveda?

What is Ayurveda?

Ayurvedic medicine evolved in India, and is considered to be the world's oldest healthcare system. It is named for the Sanskrit word Ayurveda, meaning the "science of life."

Ayurveda strives to create harmony between the body, mind, and spirit, maintaining that this balance prevents illness, treats acute conditions, and contributes to a long and healthy life.

What is Ayurvedic Massage?

Ayurvedic massage or "Abyhanga" is a full body warm oil massage. The warm oil is infused with essential oils, specifically blended for each individual to bring balance and harmony. Each massage is designed to relieve muscular stress, reduce muscular pain, move lymph and circulation, remove energy blocks and promote balance between body, mind and spirit.

Accumulated stress and toxins in the mind and body dissolve during the ayurvedic massage. A full-body warm oil massage therefore acts as a powerful recharger and rejuvenator of mind and body.

Why the Gift of Massage?

“Our favorite gifts are the ones that allow us to express emotion and make us feel special,” said gift expert and author of The Perfect Present, Robyn Spizman. “They are personal expressions of our feelings for each other.”

One survey found that 46 percent of the respondents said that they think flowers and candy are too nonspecific to show someone you care about them, and 51 percent would not care if their significant other passed on Valentine’s Day gifts.

A gift of massage is a welcome exception: a caring gift of therapeutic, healthful touch. And if your special someone has never had massage, don’t be afraid to introduce them to it. According to one consumer survey, first-time massage clients regard their massage experience as highly positive.

Massage is also a “green” gift — one that satisfies the increasing consumer demand for experiences instead of more possessions. Massage is the kind of present people of all ages are looking for, and it matches most everyone’s values and budgets.

Tips For a Healthy Spring!

Three tips for getting moving in the spring

Springtime marks the end of winter hibernation. Like so many others, you may feel the need to get out of the house and start moving. Start the season right with these tips.

Start slowly and gradually

Spring is the time to recondition our bodies for outdoor activities. Whether it’s baseball, running or yard work, you may wake up one Saturday, feeling ready to go. But it is easy to get injured if you move too fast!

Warm up

Starting slowly and gradually before brisk activity can really pay off. Go outside and march in place for five minutes or take a quick walk around the block. Then gently stretch your neck, arms and legs.

Play smarter, not harder

As you begin your gardening or engaging in your sport, focus on using your body “smarter, not harder.” Switch activities every 30 minutes so you are not using the same muscles for extended periods. Take regular rest breaks and stretch the muscles you’ve been using.

Ramping up your outdoor activities carefully will give your body time to adjust and could prevent soreness and even injury.

Avoiding Tendinitis

Tendinitis can affect everyone from tennis players and golfers to warehouse and office workers. Known for painful inflammation (“itis” refers to inflammation), scarring of tendons, swelling, and a feeling of weakness, tendinitis inhibits proper muscle function.

Muscles form a part of our body’s locomotor system. They serve to provide movement and stability of our skeleton and internal organs. The tendon is the tissue at the end of the muscle that connects to the bone.

Common areas of pain

Tendinitis is sometimes confused with or occurs with a condition called “tendonosis,” a degenerative condition of the tendon, which also causes pain and dysfunction. The most common sites for both are the shoulder, arms, hip, hamstrings and the Achilles tendon. You may experience pain at the site of the injury or pain can be referred, or radiated, to areas distant from the injury.

The role of repetitive actions

Through repeated microtrauma, tendons can develop tiny scars. Repetitive strain injuries (RSI’s) develop from repeated movements and are characterized by pain, stiffness and tissue scarring. They often involve tendons that cannot adapt to forces placed upon them. Unless you’ve suddenly whacked your tendon, pain and dysfunction usually occur gradually through repeated trauma to the tendon. A thorough assessment will help determine the cause of your specific problem.

Massage therapy for tendon injuries

Massage is very effective in treating both acute and chronic tendon conditions. Massage therapists draw from an extensive background in clinical anatomy, and hands-on assessment and treatment skills. For tendon injuries, people often find short, regular visits reduce recovery time.

Why massage?

Massage relaxes and lengthens muscle groups in the area of injury and dysfunction. In addition, transverse or cross-fiber friction massage is often used on the area of the specific tendinitis, followed by ice. Massage also helps to ensure that the joint areas above and below the injury site (where applicable) stay relaxed and mobile.

Warm and cold applications

Massage therapists often use hydrotherapy in addition to massage. When inflammation is present, ice may be applied as a natural pain reliever. After the major inflammation winds down, contrast hydrotherapy is often used to improve circulation to the injury site. This means that warm and cool applications are applied alternately on the area, several times each of warm and cool, ending with cool.

Finally, after a few weeks brief heat applications may be used, unless there is a flare-up of symptoms, in which case ice may again be applied. If your tendon is painful after work or exercise, you can use ice at home, following your therapist’s guidelines, to reduce the body’s inflammation response and relieve pain.

What is Ayurvedic Massage?

Ayurvedic massage or "Abyhanga" is a full body warm oil massage. Each massage is designed to relieve muscular stress, reduce muscular pain, move lymph and circulation, remove energy blocks and promote balance between body, mind and spirit.

Accumulated stress and toxins in the mind and body dissolve during the ayurvedic massage. A full-body warm oil massage therefore acts as a powerful recharger and rejuvenator of mind and body.

This is a wonderful way to get ready for spring and help detoxify the body after a long winter.

Benefits of Massage!

Benefits of Massage

9 REASONS TO SCHEDULE:

1. Manage Anxiety & Depression

Massage reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, resulting in lifted spirits and often lower blood pressure. It can also boost the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine, which are involved in depression.

2. Ease Pain

According to a 2011 study, massage helped people in pain feel and function better compared to people who didn't receive any massage treatment. This is because massage creates chemical changes that reduce pain and stress throughout the body. One way it does this is by reducing a brain chemical called substance P that is related to pain. In a TRI study, for example, individuals with a form of muscle pain called fibromyalgia showed less substance P in their saliva (and they reported reduced pain) after a month of twice-weekly massages.

3. Improve Sleep

A number of studies have examined this link, and chalk it up to massage's affect on delta waves, the kind of brain waves connected to deep sleep, according to Health magazine.

4. Boost Immunity

In one 2010 study, researchers found massage increased a person's disease fighting white blood cells.Several studies have measured the stress hormone called cortisol in subjects' saliva before and after massage sessions, and found dramatic decreases. Cortisol, which is produced when you are stressed, kills cells important for immunity, so when massage reduces your stress levels and hence the cortisol in your body, it may help you avoid getting a cold or another illness while under stress.

5. Raise Alertness

Adults who were given a 15-minute chair massage in a small 1996 Touch Research Institute study (TRI) were more alert and completed a series of math questions faster and more accurately.

6. Curb Headaches

A 2009 study found that a 30-minute massage decreased pain for people with tension headaches, and even curbed some of the stress and anger associated with that pounding head.

7. Improve Quality of Life

Because of many of the benefits listed above, massage is particularly helpful for people living with or undergoing treatment for serious illnesses, like cancer. Various studies have shown that massage can relieve fatigue, pain, anxiety, depression, and nausea in cancer patients.

8. Reduce Blood Pressure

Massage reduces hypertension, suggests a good deal of research. This may be because it stimulates pressure receptors that prompt action from the vagus nerve, one of the nerves that emerges from the brain. The vagus nerve regulates blood pressure, as well as other functions. In a 2005 study at the University of South Florida, hypertension patients who received 10 massages of 10 minutes each over three weeks showed significant improvements in blood pressure compared to a control group who simply rested in the same environment without any massage.

9. It Feels GREAT and you are worth it!

Katie White RMT thanks you for your patronage and looks forward to seeing you soon!

How Stressed Are You? Take The Stress Test & Find Out!

How Stressed Are You?

Are you tense much of the time? Do you have frequent headaches, neck or back aches? Or do you have trouble sleeping?

While stress is a given in life and may motivate us to do our best, learning to recognize when it is a problem is vital to feeling well. The effects of stress can creep up on you and are often the result of events or life changes. These changes, both positive and negative, make demands on you. A serious illness or separation in the family will of course increase your stress level. But happy events like marriage or a new child can also tax your physical and emotional resources.

The Stress Test

1. Do you have headaches or stomach aches?
2. Do you have pain in your shoulders or arms?
3. Have your eating habits changed? Are you eating more or less than usual?
4. Do you worry about bad things happening to your loved ones?
5. Is it hard to concentrate?
6. Do you wake up at night thinking about things you have no control over?
7. Do you lack energy to do the things you enjoy at the end of the day or on the weekend?
8. Do you often feel tired or apathetic?
9. Are you tense or irritable at work or at home?
10. Have you lost your sense of humor?
11. Are you increasingly forgetful?
12. Do you feel you have lost control over your life?
13. Do your relationships or friendships feel unsatisfying?
14. Has your drinking or smoking increased?
15. Do you find it hard to relax?

How Did You Do?

If you answered yes to more than half of the questions in the box, you may want to take steps now to reduce your stress.

What Next?

Fortunately the body has a built-in way of dealing with the effects of stress through the autonomic nervous system. There are two parts of our autonomic nervous system.

The sympathetic branch is responsible for revving you up to “fight or flee.” The parasympathetic calms you down, causing the heart rate and blood pressure to fall, the breath to slow, and the internal organs to function more efficiently. These changes are referred to as the “relaxation response,” a mechanism we are born with. The relaxation response can be triggered by certain activities like meditation, biofeedback, yoga and massage.

Five Reasons to Get a Massage!

Enjoying regular relaxation can slowly reverse the effects of chronic stress and bring you back to emotional, mental, and physical balance, the way you were meant to be.

Ultimate Relaxation Packages!

1. 60 Minute Ayurvedic Warm Oil Massage & Facial Steam $100 (free gift included)

Click here for video: Ayurvedic Massage

2. 75 Minute Thermal Palm Massage, Herbal Foot Bath & Facial Steam $110 (free gift included)

Click here for video: Thermal Palm Massage

3. 75 Minute Hot Stone Massage, Herbal Foot Bath & Facial Steam $110 (free gift included)

Click here for video: Hot Stone Massage

Take Steps to Improve Health

What integrative medicine does is reduce your stress, and we know that 85 percent of all illnesses are stress-related.... Approaches such as massage, acupuncture, aromatherapy, music, meditation, yoga…enhance your overall well-being as well as decreasing all the cortisols and stressors.

Click here for One Minute Meditation

Invest in Yourself! Prepay any 4 treatments & receive the 5th one for FREE! Must be used within 6 months of purchase and can be shared.